Which plug adaptor do I need when travelling from Barbados to Costa Rica?

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Summary

The table below summarises the plug types, voltage and frequency of electrical current in both Barbados and Costa Rica.

BarbadosCosta Rica
Plug TypesA, BA, B
Voltage115V120V
Frequency of electrical current50Hz60Hz

Plug Adaptors

In Barbados there's more than one plug type in use.

What type of plug does your appliance have?

Your Appliance has Plug Type A

In Costa Rica there's more than one socket type in use.

You will need this adaptor:

Socket Type
(Barbados) to Plug Type B
(Costa Rica)

Costa Rica also uses Socket Type A, which is used in Barbados. If using an appliance that has a Type A Plug in the Type A Sockets of Costa Rica, you will not need an adaptor.

Your Appliance has Plug Type B

In Costa Rica there's more than one socket type in use.

You will need this adaptor:

Socket Type
(Barbados) to Plug Type A
(Costa Rica)

Costa Rica also uses Socket Type B, which is used in Barbados. If using an appliance that has a Type B Plug in the Type B Sockets of Costa Rica, you will not need an adaptor.

Considerations

Voltage

The voltages found in Barbados (115V) and Costa Rica (120V) are not exactly the same, but the difference is tolerable, so you should not need a transformer.

Frequency of Electrical Current

The frequency of electrical current found in Barbados (50Hz) differs to that found in Costa Rica (60Hz).

Most equipment is not affected by differences in frequencies. Some exceptions are:

  • Electric clocks: Some electric clocks use the frequency of electrical current to measure time. If the clock is designed for one frequency, but used with another, time shifts could be experienced.
  • Appliances using motors: If there is a motor load associated with an appliance, the frequency governs the speed in revolutions of the motor. This could mean that the motor will spin faster, or slower than intended and could have a detrimental effect in the appliance's operation. This is of particular concern in power tools and other machinery that uses motors, so if you must use these, you should seek access to a frequency converter.

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